Paradise
by TheWrtrInMe
Summary: A feeling beyond words. More than two bodies, more than just pleasure; it was a sealing of the greatest promise they'd ever made. Third story in the Full Circle Series
1. Tonight's the Night

**Chapter 1: Tonight's the Night**

'_God she's beautiful'_ he thought. Staring onto the dance floor at his wife of exactly three hours and thirteen minutes, Freddie was mesmerized, and suddenly very ready to get the honeymoon started. Sam spun in wild circles, holding Jax who clapped his hands as he laughed long and loud. There was something so joyous about them in this moment, so completely carefree, that it was hard to imagine the whole thing had almost ended before it could begin.

Sam caught his eye from across the room and winked, leaning in to whisper something in Jax' ear. Jax, right on cue, turned to find his father's face in the crowd, smiled and blew him a kiss. Freddie smiled and started toward them. He was aware of people around him patting him on the back, voicing the congratulations he'd been receiving for the last two hours. He smiled and nodded but his attention was focused on the two people standing at the center of the room. It was almost magnetic, his need to be near them. It was the only place in the world that made him feel this happy; this free. Ryland MacGregor had been right – Freddie was one lucky bastard.

"Daddy!" Jax cried, launching himself at Freddie as he approached. Jax had always been energetic. From the time he woke up to the time he went to bed, it was a steady stream of motion, but today Freddie could barely hold onto him as he wiggled and bounced, laughing and talking a mile a minute.

"Someone's extra excited today," he said looking over at Sam, who suddenly looked a little guilty. "And what's all over his face?" he laughed surveying the film of pink crumbs covering Jax' mouth.

"He might have had a Fatcake…or three…"

"Oh, really?" he said, turning to Jax, "Grandma is gonna love that isn't she?"

"I love Fatcakes." Jax said solemnly and Freddie burst out laughing. He was just like his mother – he took his snacks very seriously.

"I'm sure you do, buddy. But if we let you have any more we'll be in big trouble with Grandma Marissa."

Jax eyes grew wide, "Daddy in time-out?" That was the height of punishment to a kid that never stopped moving. Five minutes of silence and stillness.

"If they give you any more sugar I may have to put them in time-out." Freddie turned to see his mother behind him, her arms extended to Jax. "Come on honey, let's get you cleaned up."

Handing Jax to his mother, he wrapped an arm around Sam and they watched as Marissa went off, likely in search of her supply of wet wipes. Turning his attention back to Sam, he reached down to wrap his other arm around her drawing her close, his mouth near her ear.

"You just got a two year old hopped up on sugar and handed him off to my mother. You are cruel, Samantha Benson."

"I can't help it if my son has his mother's great taste in snack foods." She laughed, looking up at him. "That was genius you know."

"What?"

"The wedding cake made entirely of Fat Cakes. I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner. You're amazing."

Freddie swayed to the music playing, enjoying the feeling of Sam in his arms. "Well, isn't that one of the reasons you married me?"

Sam pulled herself closer to him and twisted her hips just enough for him to forget what he'd been saying. She bit her bottom lip and trailed a hand down his chest.

"Well…there are other reasons." She said, smiling wickedly.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Hmmm…it would require more of a, 'hands on' demonstration."

Freddie stared down at her, at her full lips and her blue eyes. He wanted to kiss her, but feared that if he started he wouldn't be able to stop and their reception guests would be witness to an exchange of more than vows.

"Let's get out of here," he said. It wasn't a question-it was a statement. He needed to get her alone. Now. Hooking his arm around Sam's waist, he moved her toward the exit doors where his mother and the rest of the bridal party were standing. The reception was almost over anyway. They'd had dinner and cake, a first dance, and toasts varying from sweet (Carly) to wildly inappropriate (Gibby). What else was there to do?

"Well aren't you…eager!" Sam laughed.

"Damn right." Freddie said as the reached the group. His mother, holding a still wiggling but markedly cleaner Jax, turned to them with a smile. "Hey, guys," Freddie pulled Sam to his side with one hand. "Listen, we're getting ready to take off…"

"What?" Carly cried, "You can't leave yet."

"Um, yeah Carls," Sam said, "actually we can."

"But you haven't thrown the bouquet yet!" Melanie moved to stand beside Carly, her arms crossed stubbornly over her chest. "What's the big hurry anyway?"

"Seriously Mel…do I need to spell it out for you?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh…" Mel, blushed furiously. "Well, at least throw the bouquet. Then you can get…started on your honeymoon."

Thirty minutes later, Sarah MacGregor was the proud owner of Sam's bouquet, Spencer was in possession of the blue garter Sam had worn, and Sam and Freddie were standing on the curb outside the reception hall, saying goodbye to Jax and giving Marissa final instructions.

"Make sure you read to him before he goes to bed," Sam said, "and don't make the Big Bad Wolf too scary or he won't sleep. And make sure he has Charlie Bear when he goes to bed. Oh, and if he gets a rash there's some special ointment in our medicine cabinet. And…"

"Samantha!" he mom said, cutting Sam off. "I have done this before…stop worrying. Jackson and I will be just fine. Won't we, Jackson?"

Jax looked from his grandmother to his mother and back again, his little face suddenly crumpling as he began to wail.

"Don't go Mama!" Jax' blue eyes ran a steady stream of tears and he reached out for his mother, attempting, in vain, to wiggle out of Marissa's arms.

Sam looked at Freddie in desperation. She was not the strong one when it came to Jax. If he left it up to her right now, she'd throw Jax' bag in the back with their suitcases and they'd have a new addition to their honeymoon trip.

Freddie reached out and took the inconsolable Jax from Marissa's arms.

"Hey," he said, tickling Jax under his chin. "Remember what you're going to be today?"

"A big boy," Jax said, sniffling as Freddie wiped his tears.

"That's right. And what do big boys do?

"Behave."

"That's right! So you're gonna be a big boy for Mommy and Daddy and go with Grandma, and we'll be back before you know it. Okay?"

"Okay," Jax said, laying his head on Freddie's shoulder, not sounding entirely convinced about this 'big boy' business.

Sam leaned up to kiss Jax' cheek, whispering in his ear how much they loved him. Freddie looked down to see tears in her eyes. This was hard, for both of them. This was the longest they'd ever be away from Jax, but he knew if they didn't leave soon, they'd run the risk of not going at all, and he'd been planning this honeymoon surprise for too long to back out now.

"Come on Jackson," Marissa said, taking Jax from Freddie's arms. "Let's go inside and see if we can find Jason." She turned to Sam and Freddie. "Well, I'm not going to get all emotional again." She said, but her eyes said different. "I'm so proud of you…both of you." She leaned in to hug Sam and then Freddie, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Now go on you two…have fun and be safe. Call me when you get there."

The doors to the reception hall opened and their guests poured out onto the street, all loudly calling their goodbyes. Sam stood by the open limo door, calling out goodbyes to her family and blowing kisses to Jax. Freddie waved his own goodbyes, smiling at his friends and family. Catching sight of Sam's Uncle Carmine standing on the edge of the crowd, he paused. Carmine had pulled him to the side during the reception, giving him what amounted to a death threat if he so much as considered hurting Sam. Now he stood on the edge of the crowd and offered Freddie a soft smile. The men nodded at each other. They'd reached a silent understanding; Carmine had nothing to worry about. Making Sam happy was Freddie's priority, one he didn't intend to mess up.

The cacophony of voices and well wishes cut off abruptly as Freddie shut the door to the limo. Reaching down, Sam pulled off the heels she'd been complaining about all day, throwing them across the limo's plush backseat before settling into her seat and Freddie's arms.

"So…are you ready for this?" he asked.

"Ready for what? My super-secret honeymoon?" she laughed. "Are you finally going to tell me where we're going?"

"I think it might be easier to show you." He said, reaching over to grab a flat white box that sat across from them. Sam looked at him curiously as he placed the box in her hands. "Go ahead, open it."

Sam cast one more sidelong glance at Freddie before removing the red ribbon that held the box together. Opening the lid she looked in at the PearPad inside and lifted it out. Freddie reached across and turned it on, pressing icons on the touch screen to bring up the video he'd loaded a week ago.

"Freddie, what is this?"

"Just watch," he smiled, "and prepare to be amazed."

The screen was dark as a song from Tom Jobim flowed from the speakers, slowly the screen began to fill with water as blue as she'd ever seen, lapping softly at a white sand beach that seemed to go on for miles.

"We're going to a beach?" Sam asked.

"Not just any beach…keep watching!"

The camera moved in from the panoramic view of the white sand beach, approaching a beautiful building all steel and glass surrounded by palm trees of the greenest green. The view continued, focusing in on the hotel's name.

"Árvore Verde?" Sam asked, confused and Freddie could tell she was doing her best to call on her one year of Spanish to translate. "Green … something?"

"Very good! Green Tree. It's a large chain of five-star hotels that sits on the beach…in Brazil."

He looked at Sam and every minute of planning, plotting and listening to her whine about being kept in the dark was worth it as her eyes grew wider and wider. Once, about a year ago, they'd been watching an episode of 'Dude takes on Food,' Sam's favorite show, as it filmed in São Paulo, Brazil. Sam had been completely taken with the setting, partially because of how beautiful the place was but mostly because in this particular episode, Dude's challenge took place in a restaurant that served a variety of meats, carried around on swords by the servers. Sand, sun and meat…it was Sam's perfect place. When it was time to plan the honeymoon, he knew right away where he was taking her.

"Freddie! Oh my God! Are you serious right now?"

"As a heart attack."

"We're going to Brazil?"

"Yep."

"Right now?"

"Yep."

She threw herself into his arms, planting loud, wet kisses all over his face.

"Do you have any idea how much I love you right now?"

He laughed and buried his face in her hair, rubbing her back. "If it's even half as much as I love you then I'm a pretty lucky man."

She sat back on her seat but left her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. Her eyes twinkled mischievously as she leaned in to kiss him. "And you're about to get even luckier."

By the time the limo pulled up in front of the hotel they'd be staying in for the night, Sam's excitement at knowing the honeymoon's location had lessened a bit, overtaken by a sudden nervousness. She was getting ready to start her honeymoon. It all felt a little strange, though she couldn't put her finger on why.

She continued to smile as Freddie helped her out of the limo and they headed through the doors of the Seattle Fairmont Olympic Hotel. As they passed, people standing in the lobby smiled at them, congratulating them, wishing them good luck. All the while the butterflies in in Sam's stomach steadily multiplied.

Freddie settled her on an ornate chaise near the concierge desk as he checked them in.

"Freddie and Samantha Benson." He said to the woman standing behind the desk. His face radiated so much pride at those words. The woman, whose name tag identified her as Gerta, looked over at Sam and smiled.

"Ah, yes, of course. The Bensons for the honeymoon suite." She typed in their information and handed Freddie their key cards. "Your bride is beautiful," she said. Freddie turned to Sam, something new and transfixing in his eyes.

"Yes," he said, "She is." He walked over to her then, offering her his hand as the bell hop grabbed their bags. "You ready?" he said as she stood.

She nodded, not really trusting her own voice, took his hand, and followed him to the glass enclosed elevator. As it ascended, she wondered if the bellhop could feel the palpable tension in the small enclosed space. She looked from beneath her eyelashes at Freddie. His collar was open and his face flushed as he stared at her with hooded eyes. Her hands were itching to touch him, her body growing desperate to allow him to do to her the things she saw just behind his eyes.

After an eternity, the elevator let them off on the top floor and they followed the bellhop to their room. Freddie opened the door and allowed the short, uniformed man to place their bags inside but held Sam's hand to keep her from entering behind him. Tipping the man as he left, Freddie reached down and swept Sam into his arms, walking into the room.

Her breath caught at the shock of being lifted and she barely had time to recover before his lips were on hers, slow and rhythmically moving against her. She was breathless when he pulled back, setting her down gently in front of him. She smiled up at him and turned around, taking in their surroundings. The room was gorgeous, modern with light wood and silver accents, large and open with a wall of windows where the Seattle sunset served as a backdrop.

"Freddie, this is amazing." She breathed.

Freddie walked behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, lowering his lips to her neck.

"Not as beautiful as you," he said.

She shivered at the feel of his lips against her and struggled to maintain her composure.

"I need to get this dress off."

She felt Freddie's hands at the back of her dress, pressing on the buttons there. "I'd be happy to help you with that."

She laughed and turned around, pushing lightly against his chest. "No…I need to, you know…shower and stuff."

He placed a soft kiss on her cheek and walked over to her suitcase, placing it in the bathroom for her.

"Go ahead, baby. Take your time. I have a surprise I need to get ready for you anyway."

"Freddie! I don't need any more surprises. Seriously…this, all of this, is enough."

He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose as he exited the bathroom. "No arguments. Now go get ready…and no peeking." He smiled as he shut the door behind her.

She looked around the bathroom and shook her head. It was bigger than their bedroom at home. On the far wall was a multi-head two person shower. Beside the shower four steps inlaid with marble led up to a garden tub big enough to fit four people. Along the opposite side, his and her pedestal sinks stood in front of a wall of mirrors, linked by a marble countertop. She didn't know bathrooms could be beautiful.

She heard a soft knocking at the suite's front door and whispered voices. She laughed to herself, wondering what exactly Freddie was up to. She figured she'd find out soon enough. Walking to the center of the room she turned to the mirrors and looked at herself. Even after a couple hours of dancing she had to admit she still looked pretty good. She removed her dress and felt as if she were moving in slow motion as she took a shower, covered her body in a scented lotion Freddie loved and then reached into her suitcase to pull out the satin robe she'd purchased for tonight. Carly and Melanie had tried to talk her into all sorts of fancy lace get ups but Sam was adamant – anything she put on wasn't going to stay on for very long, so what was the point?

She washed her face and brushed her teeth, putting on a little mascara and lip gloss in Freddie's favorite flavor – cherry. The exact same kind she'd been wearing when they'd kissed for the first time out on the fire escape. It had taken her days to find it but it just felt right. Standing back, she surveyed herself. Freddie had always loved her hair long She ran a hand through the curls, closing her eyes as she thought of how it felt to lay in Freddie's arms and have him play with her hair.

"Sam?" Freddie knocked softly on the door. "Honey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be right out." Glancing once more into the mirror, she took a deep breath and headed for the door. As she opened it she had to adjust her eyes to the darkened entryway.

"Freddie?" she called.

"Out here, baby. Just follow the lights."

Sam did indeed notice soft light, but she was speechless as the room came fully into view. In the time it had taken her to get ready Freddie had managed to transform the already beautiful room into something akin to paradise. She didn't know how, but at the moment she didn't care. This was everything she'd ever dreamed of.

The lights were off and candles seemed to cover every surface, illuminating the space. The king sized bed sat on a platform at the center of the room, covered in rose petals that trailed from the downy white comforter to the place where she now stood.

Freddie stood beside the bed, his chest bare, a pair of white drawstring pants slung low on his hips. Above them her eyes traced the outline of his abs to his broad shoulders, accentuated by lean muscle. She loved his body. Watching him now, she was gaining a new appreciation for it and struggled to maintain her composure as she considered the way his skin would feel beneath her hands … the way he'd smell, the way he'd taste.

Her breath was halting as she raised her eyes to meet his. Walking toward her, he came to a stop close enough to touch her. She shivered in anticipation of the moment his hands made contact but instead he stood still, his eyes raking over her.

"Sam?" his voice was gruff, heavy with need, all the more powerful because of the silence it shattered.

"Yes?"

"I want to see you." he said, "all of you."

With shaking hands she undid the knotted belt of her robe, shivering as the silk slid from her shoulders and pooled at her feet. She was left bare. The light cast dancing shadows over her body and a rolling heat settled in the pit of her stomach as Freddie's lust filled eyes drank her in.

She'd been naked in front of him before, more times than she could count. There wasn't a part of her body that he wasn't familiar with. But like the first encounter with a new lover, every curve called for his touch, begging him to claim all of her. This was a feeling beyond want or desire. It was need, potent and feral in its intensity.

Under the power of his gaze, she felt suddenly and irrationally self-conscious. Her body was different since she'd had Jax. The changes were small, likely only noticeable to her. But in this moment, with Freddie's eyes trained on her unflinchingly, she was painfully aware of them all. She raised a hand to cover herself and Freddie bridged the gap between them, grabbing hold of her arm.

"Don't," he said, raising her hand to his lips, placing a light kiss on her palm. "You're so beautiful."

As he lowered her hand and looked into her eyes, Sam saw an acceptance that bordered on adoration, and she felt her insecurities melt away. Without another word he came to her, so close there was barely room for air between them. Leaning down he placed a kiss on her bare shoulder. She closed her eyes and felt his arm around her and then weightlessness as he lifted her, carrying her to the bed.

"Quite the gentleman, aren't you Mr. Benson?"

He smiled at her, but said nothing and she felt his hands shaking beneath her. He was nervous. She was relieved not to be the only one. _'But why?' _she wondered. They'd been together for over two years. They had a child together – a life, and now they were married. What was there to be nervous about?

She was the one who'd told Freddie that marriage was just a piece of paper, an official seal on something that had already been decided. But the feeling she had now, this sensation of opening her eyes to find the world brand new, was proof that she'd been wrong.

This was different. They were different. They weren't playing house or testing the waters. This wasn't a temporary situation and there were no easy exit doors. Looking down at the diamond that sparkled on her left hand it was clear to her. They were now an 'us' in the truest sense of the word.

Freddie placed her softly in the middle of the bed. His face was serious, a range of emotions played out behind his eyes. She knew him too well – he couldn't hide anything from her. He was thinking – too hard.

"Good thing I'm not allergic to flowers," she laughed, attempting to draw him out. "But I have a feeling I'm going to have rose petals in very strange places in the morning." Underneath the words she spoke she hoped he heard the words in her heart.

"_Things have changed, but not the most important thing. We're still us."_

Freddie slid into the bed beside her, drawing the blanket over them. When he looked back at her, the shadows in his eyes were gone.

"Seriously Sam," he laughed, "I did all of this and all you can think about is rose petals in your 'special' places?"

"Got you to laugh, though."

"Yeah…" he said, smiling down at her. "You did. You always do. How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Know exactly what to say – exactly what I need."

She shrugged and turned her body toward him, "I don't know…it's a gift." She laughed.

"You're a gift." He reached out a hand, cupping her chin, "I love you Samantha Joy Benson."

"I love you, Freddie." She said, placing both hands on the sides of his face, pulling his lips down to meet hers. The kiss was soft at first but as he lowered himself onto her, skin meeting skin, desire wound itself like a coil tighter and tighter in her stomach. His touches were feather light as he slid a hand down her side. His fingertips trailed down to her hip and back again, halting as they brushed against the edge of her breast. She ran a hand up the back of his neck, grasping the hair there, pulling him to her. She kissed him with greedy insistence. His hands continued to skim her body, ghosted touch over every part of her until she thought she'd go mad. He dragged his hand down the outside of her thigh, his movements slow and deliberate as he continued to kiss her, tracing the outline of her bottom lip with his tongue. She moaned in anticipation as his fingers inched their way up her inner thigh, tracing soft, lazy circles over her skin, stopping short of where she wanted them to be. Reflexively she groaned, the ache building at the center of her.

Freddie pulled his lips from her and chuckled softly, whispering in her ear.

"Patience…" he said, tracing his tongue over her earlobe. "We have all night. And I intend to make good use of every second."

The sound of his voice, deep and throaty in her ear, only served to intensify her need. Wrapping her arms around his neck she slid her leg up his body, hooking it around his waist. She lowered her head to the base of his neck, licking slowly upward to his ear – the spot that made him generally agreeable to whatever she wanted, and nipped at it. Freddie moaned, his eyes closed, momentarily distracted from the slow torture to which he'd been subjecting her. Taking advantage of his brief loss of control, she twisted her hips and rolled them both over, pushing his shoulders back onto the bed as she straddled him.

Freddie stared up at her, placing his hands on her hips, pulling her into him. His response to their change in position was immediate and evident and Sam threw her head back at the sensation of him throbbing beneath her. Never taking his eyes from her, he wrapped one arm around her back and sat up, placing soft open mouthed kisses down the center of her chest, his other hand kneading her breast.

She ground her hips into his, placing her hands behind her on the bed to balance herself. The way he was touching her now was like worship, giving his full attention to each kiss, each touch. His mouth found her breast and she hissed at the moist warmth of his mouth, arching her back as her fingers reached out to tangle in his hair. She felt him smile at her reaction. He knew exactly what he was doing to her.

Sam reached down through the space between them, hurriedly tugging at the draw string on his pants. From the way his fingers dug into her hips, the soft moans that escaped his open mouth, she knew he now had as little interest in going slow as she did. She needed him – now.

"Freddie," she said through halting breaths, "I can't….I need…"

He raised his head to look at her, his mouth still occupied. "What is it baby? Tell me what you need."

She groaned as he began to suck at the soft skin of her collar bones. She was rapidly losing the ability to form coherent sentences.

"You know…you know what I need."

"Say it," the command came out like a growl from somewhere deep in his chest, "I want to hear you say it. Tell me what you want."

She'd never wanted him like this. Never needed him like this. Her body tensed, her heart a timpani in her chest. Without words, it begged for the release only he could give her.

"I need you…inside me. Please." Her voice was pleading.

Her words were all the encouragement Freddie needed, and he flipped her onto her back and hovered over her. She reached down to his hips, clawing at the thin fabric that was the only thing separating her from what she wanted most. Freddie shook his head, grabbing her hands and pinning them over her head with one of his own. His lips were firm and demanding against her own and she felt sure that at any moment he'd devour her whole.

Sliding his pants from his hips he kicked them onto the floor. Running his hand up the back of her thigh he wrapped her leg around him and lowered himself onto her. Sam cried out at the contact, her head filled with a steady buzzing that made it impossible to think of anything but him or to even consider that the world existed outside this moment.

The feeling of him around her, over her, inside of her, was almost too much to bear. Her hips matched his, thrust for thrust, driving her closer and closer to the edge. She grabbed onto his shoulders, dragging her nails down his back. He hissed into her shoulder, wrapping her leg around him, changing the angle of his entry. As he moved against her, pressing his lips to her ear, her heart, already overflowing with him, was filled again as he whispered his love, restated his promise.

'_I love you. I'll always love you. You're everything to me.'_

She tried to respond with words, tried to make clear the depth of her love for him. But this, what she was feeling, was beyond words. It wasn't just two bodies, it wasn't just pleasure. This was the sealing of the greatest promise she'd ever made. There was a truth beneath this passion that brought the world into sharp focus. The words being spoken, the eyes staring into hers, the heart beating against her own; these were the road signs confirming that she'd chosen the right path – she'd found where she belonged.

The frenzied energy between them was like fire, building until it threatened to consume them and they both surrendered to it, the screams of their release echoing off the walls of the room. Freddie fell against her and rolled to his side, pulling her toward him until her back was flush with his chest. Neither of them moved, or said a word. They lay in each other arms until their breathing slowed. Finally Sam spoke.

"That was…"

"Amazing? Spectacular? Life-changing?

Sam laughed and turned to face Freddie, laying a hand on his chest. "Better than ham."

Freddie's eyes grew wide in mock surprise. "Wow…that's a pretty high honor. So, you gonna trade in a lifelong love of meat for consistently amazing sex?"

"I don't think so," she laughed, pressing her body against his, "but what's wrong with having your cake and eating it too?"

"Well, Mrs. Benson…" Freddie smiled wickedly as he leaned down to kiss her. "I think that can be arranged."


	2. Garota de Seattle

**Chapter 2: Garota de Seattle**

Freddie stood at the floor to ceiling window of their room at the Árvore Verde. He smiled to himself as he thought again of their most important priority, one that would be attended to right in this room; preferably very shortly. Last night had been amazing; so amazing in fact that they'd gotten very little sleep and almost missed their flight out of Sea-Tac. But it had been well worth it and he looked forward to spending the next five days with the woman of his dreams in paradise.

He looked out to the white-sand beach and the ocean beyond, and thought of all the sights and sounds of Praia das Palmeiras that they passed in the taxi from the airport. Sam had been like an eager puppy the whole ride, her head stuck out the window as she oohed and ahhed at everything she saw. As happy as he was to be here, watching Sam's face made it all the better. This was his first time in Brazil, and he was looking forward to spending time with his wife (his wife! he couldn't stop smiling at that) on a beach that the Washington coast could not begin to rival. There was the picturesque seaside town to explore, and he knew Sam couldn't wait to try Brazilian food. It was going to be perfect.

"OH, CHIZZ!" Sam's roar behind him brought Freddie away from the window, and he turned to her. She was standing near their bed in front of their open suitcases manically searching for something.

"What happened?" he asked, as Sam tore through the contents of their suitcases.

"My pills! I didn't bring my pills!" her voice was frantic as she dumped the entire contents of her toiletry bag out on the bed.

"What pills?"

"My birth control pills!" she said, throwing her hands into the air in frustration as she sat hard on the edge of the bed. " I must have left them in the medicine cabinet at home. And, by the way, that means I didn't take one before we left Seattle this morning. What are we going to do? On our _honeymoon_, Freddie!"

Freddie walked over and sat beside her, rubbing her back as she sat pitched forward with her head in her hands, bemoaning her current circumstances.

"Sam…calm down."

She looked up at him and he suddenly wished he'd thought of something else to say.

"Calm down! How am I supposed to be calm? Let me do the math for you: zero pills, equals zero sex." Freddie bit his lip, he hadn't really considered that. "Do you still want me to be calm?"

"Well, I mean, there are…other ways. I brought condoms." He searched through the scattered contents of his suitcase for the box he'd brought.

"The product of our last experiment with condoms is as we speak driving your mother even crazier than she was to start with." Sam returned to moaning her displeasure.

Freddie stopped to think. _Well, she only needs a week's worth, but she'll probably have to get a month's supply, since that's how they're sold_. "Sam, the town seems to have a pharmacy on every block. It's not like we're in a third world country, they have to sell the Pill in Brazil just like everywhere else, right? Do you know what brand you use?"

Sam looked back at Freddie with an uneasy smile. "They have brands? It's not one big pill company?"

"I don't think so. They always have those commercials on T.V." Freddie stopped and thought some more. How was it possible for her to be taking a pill for this long with absolutely no idea what kind of pill it was? And then he knew.

"Sam, who got you on the pill?"

Sam threw herself back against the mess of clothes on the bed, looking at the ceiling. "Your mom took me to the doctor right after I had Jax and since then they've just shown up every few months like clockwork."

Freddie studied his distraught wife who'd thrown herself back onto the bed and tried to concentrate on what she was saying. It wasn't working. The sundress Sam was wearing had ridden up high on her thighs as she lay on the bed and the view from where he sat made the situation suddenly urgent. They needed to get those pills, and they needed to get them now.

He sighed and lay back beside her. "I think there's only one quick way to fix this, Sam. If my mom is the one who took you then…"

Sam sat up quickly. "No. No way. I am _not_ calling Crazy to have her to rummage through our medicine cabinet." She shook her head furiously. "What am I supposed to say, 'Hey Marissa, I'd really like to have wild sex with your son so can you tell me what kind of birth control pills I use?"

He had to laugh at the look on her face. He wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea but it wasn't like she didn't know they were having sex, and now they even had the excuse that they were married. "We don't have any choice. We need to try to do something tonight before you miss another day. Like you just said, it's our honeymoon!" he sat up and grabbed her hand, "Plus would you rather ask her about the pills or tell her she's gonna be a grandma again?"

Sam picked up her pearPhone, turned it on, and dialed their apartment back in Seattle. They had decided to keep their phones off, both to stay focused on each other and to avoid the exorbitant roaming charges coming from international mobile phone use. This call would be expensive, but it was an emergency.

Sam began pacing in front of the bed as she waited for the call to connect.

"Can you even imagine?" she said, "Getting pregnant again? Now?" she shook her head as if the very idea set her teeth on edge.

Freddie started to respond when he heard his mother pick up on the other end.

"Hello?" Marissa was fortunately taking a week's vacation to spend with Jax, so she was at home to answer.

"Hi Marissa!"

"Samantha! How are you? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah…everything's fine. I was calling to let you know we made it and we're in our hotel room..."

"That's wonderful! I'm sure you're tired after your flight. Do want me to give the phone to Jackson?"

"In a minute, but I actually needed to talk to you about something else."

"Oh, well.,,hold on Sam." It sounded like Marissa put a hand over the phone to muffle the noise in the background. Then she heard the laughter of her son and Marissa calling after him,

'Jackson Daniel, you come back here!"

Sam tried not to laugh as Marissa came back to the phone. "Jax giving you a hard time?"

"No, he's just –well, he's very…active." She sighed and Sam suddenly heard the exhaustion in her voice. Only one day and Jax had worn her down already. "So what is it you needed to talk to me about?"

Sam sighed and steeled herself. Might as well make this direct and get it over with. "Marissa, can I ask you to go into our bathroom for me, and open the medicine cabinet?"

"The medicine cabinet, why? Are you okay? Did my Freddiebear get sick already? Did he drink the water? Don't let a mosquito bite him—I just read about dengue!

"No, we're both fine. But I kind of … well, I forgot something. Are you at the medicine cabinet?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"Can you look for a round gray flat plastic container?" This is the moment she dreaded, the one when Marissa realized what this was about. Sam could almost see her shaking her head.

"You forgot your birth control pills? "

"Yeah." Sam said quietly.

"Did you take one yesterday?" she asked, thinking the same thing Sam was… '_was their honeymoon night going to result in any unexpected surprises?_'

Sam closed her eyes, embarrassed beyond belief. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I did." She groaned, "this is so embarrassing."

"Sam, honey, I'm a nurse who works with mostly with female patients. There is absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. Are you going to try to get some down there?"

"Freddie said we could try one of the pharmacies but I need to know what to ask for."

"Let's see," Marissa said. "The brand name is useless in Brazil, since it will be different. What you need is a pill with the same active ingredient, or it won't work because it will change your hormone levels. I have the foil packet here. It looks like your pill combines estrogen and estradiol, so you need one with those two hormones. You probably need a prescription from a Brazilian doctor to get them, though. Ask the hotel if they can help you find one."

Sam scribbled down the names Marissa had rattled off and handed the paper to Freddie while Marissa put the phone up to Jax' ear and let Sam talk to him.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Sam and Freddie were at the concierge's desk, and Sam was grateful to be speaking to another woman.

"I think I need to find a doctor to get a prescription, and it's an emergency." She lowered her voice to a whisper, leaning toward the woman. "I need to get a new supply of my birth control pills,"

"Don't worry," the concierge, whose nametag read Renata, replied with an understanding smile and a rhythmic accent. "You don't really need a prescription for them here. It's rare for a pharmacist to ask for one. We call it _jeitinho_, our Brazilian way of getting complicated things done." She patted Sam's hand and Sam looked up at Freddie, her face relaxed for the first time since she'd discovered she'd forgotten the pills. "But no pharmacist in this town will speak English, so I need to write out what you need."

After thanking Renata profusely, Sam and Freddie walked out of the hotel with an old-fashioned map (no phone meant no GPS) and a piece of hotel stationary on which Renata had written _Precisa de pílulas anticoncepcionais_ and the words _estrogênio_ and _etinilestradiol_. They found the pharmacy, exactly where Renata promised it would be, and walked up to the counter.

"_Boa noite, senhora. Como é que eu posso ajudá-la?_"

Having no idea that the pharmacist had simply greeted them and asked how she could help, Sam handed her the paper. The pharmacist studied it, turned to Sam, and said "É, este é Triquilar." She turned around and grabbed a small red box, placing it on the counter. Despite the broad red stripe with the words _VENDA SOB PRESCRIÇÃO MÉDICA UNICAMENTE_, and the fact that they'd never been asked for a valid prescription, the cashier rang them up.

"_Sete reais, quarenta e cinco centavos, por favor_." They understood nothing, but Freddie could see the cash register display showing a total of 7.45 of the local currency. He pulled out a reddish-pink note marked 10, and handed it to the pharmacist, who gave him a handful of coins and a receipt.

The mood was noticeably lightened as they left the drugstore, and Freddie felt Sam tugging him forward by the hand back toward the hotel. Back in their room Freddie changed into board shorts and a t-shirt while Sam changed into a bikini that made him seriously consider staying in. Sitting on the bed he watched as she opened the pack of pills and downed one without water, looking relieved as she swallowed.

"Feel better?" he said.

'You have no idea! Now I'm ready for some serious honeymooning!" she said, doing a little dance in the mirror. Freddie offered a half smile as he watched her. She paused, studying his face.

"Hey," she said, coming to sit beside him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing honey, really. I'm fine."

"Not even married twenty four hours yet, and already lying, Benson?" she laughed softly.

"Seriously, tell me what's going on with you."

"Would it have been so bad?" he said, looking down.

"Would what have been so bad?"

"Missing the pills…getting pregnant. Would that have been so bad?"

"You're not serious…"

"I mean, I know we don't want kids right now but you were just…so upset and it made it seem like, I don't know." He sat quietly before looking up at her, "Do you want more kids?"

Sam sighed and tried to find a way to answer that would help him understand how she felt.

"I love Jax, and I love being a mom. But there are days when I feel like that's all I am, you know? Like there isn't a part of me that's just…me. I'd like to do something, be something."

"You are something! You're a wife and an amazing mother and…"

"And all that's great but, I don't know. It's like you and Carly, you're going to school and you have all these plans and hopes but I've spent the last two years focusing all my hopes and plans around being someone's mother." She reached out for Freddie's hand, "and like I said, I love it but I just think that one day, soon I want to find out what else I can do. And that can't happen if I'm popping out kids like that Duggar chick." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Do you understand?"

"Of course. I'm not ready for more kids right now anyway. I guess I just wanted to make sure that it _is_ something you want, you know, someday."

She grabbed Freddie's hand, pulling him toward the door.

"Someday, Freddie…but right now I'm much more interested in spending the day on the beach with the world's sexiest husband."

* * *

He followed Sam out of the hotel and back onto the sun drenched street, glad to have survived their first 'discussion' as man and wife without any yelling, or tears. They walked up the street, hand in hand, both of them sporting ear-to-ear smiles.

From the sidewalk, they turned onto a boardwalk that led to the beach. The boardwalk had a series of shops, one selling beach supplies like sunscreen, another a newsstand, and finally, a little boutique that sold swimwear. Sam stopped to look in from the boardwalk, finally grabbing Freddie's arm and leading him inside. The boutique was not particularly large, but it featured multiple racks of Brazilian-made bikinis. Sam immediately pulled a couple out and began to study them. Freddie couldn't help but notice that they seemed much smaller than the American variety, and that they were all string bikinis. Freddie saw a little label on one that read _fío dental_, and remembered reading that the Brazilian nickname for a string bikini was "dental floss." The name seemed appropriate.

Sam held up a bikini with a green and yellow top and a blue bottom, and headed into the changing room to try it on. She stepped back out a few minutes later, and Freddie's eyes went as wide as saucers. Unfortunately, it was not in a good way. The string bikini predictably covered little, and while Freddie enjoyed the sight of his wife's body, this particular swimsuit did not flatter her. The top was … well, Sam was not really … shaped like most Brazilian women, and he thought that this top was not particularly … supportive. His eyes passed to the bottom, and he immediately understood the significance of the term "Brazilian wax."

"How do you like it?" Sam asked. Freddie thought that he'd rather go back to talking about birth control pills than answer that question.

Freddie stared at Sam a little while longer while he thought he approached the question. While he stalled, he noticed other men in the show starting to stare at Sam, one of whom had to be a German tourist when he saw the man's girlfriend slap him, call him something beginning with "schwein," before storming out of the shop.

Freddie had to act before these men got too used to the show. "Well," be began, "the sizing on these swimsuits must be a little weird. It doesn't really look right."

"Are you sure?" Sam retorted. "I really like the colors."

"Ugh." He was going to have to be more direct. "Sam, that bikini makes you seem too much like your mother. Please look in the mirror."

Sam turned, and suddenly realized what Freddie meant, and she ran to the dressing room to change back.

A few minutes later, they left the store, Sam back in her own beachwear. But Freddie had given her an idea—she bought a _fío dental_ as a gag (she hoped) gift for her mother.

They spent a quiet afternoon on the beach, enjoying the warm sand, ocean breeze, and each other's company. Sam made a vendor's week by buying four drinks prepared right in opened coconuts, and made the pleasant discovery that food hawkers wandered up and down Brazilian beaches, making the acquaintance of local snacks like a _pastel_, a kind of thin meat pie, and the _coxinha_, a ball of shredded chicken coated in mashed potatoes and fried.

Freddie enjoyed the musicians wandering up and down the beach, though he didn't particularly enjoy the group that noticed Sam and surrounded them while singing a Brazilian song:

_Olha que coisa mais linda  
Mais cheia de graça  
É ela menina  
Que vem e que passa  
No doce balanço, a caminho do mar_

They seemed even happier when Freddie gave them five _reais_ to go away.

* * *

A few hours later, after returning to the hotel and putting on slightly dressier clothes, they set out on foot for downtown. Freddie slipped his hand free and put it around Sam's waist, pulling her close to him. "So what's next, baby?"

"I'm hungry, and Mama wants meat. On 'Dude Takes on Food' there was this all you can eat meat place where they just keep coming at you and piling it on your plate." Her eyes lit in excitement. "Come on, nub, time to start making good on that promise to love, honor, and feed me."

They wandered randomly around Praia das Palmeiras for a while. Their map did not help them much. They were just too used to watching a blue dot float around a touchscreen as it followed a path set out for it. But they slowly made their way into the center of town, and as they reached the main _praça_, Sam immediately picked up on the scent of grilled meat. Freddie smelled it himself just as Sam began to push him in the direction of the smell. Neither had eaten since the last leg of the plane trip, and Freddie realized that if he was feeling hungry, he could only imagine the message Sam's stomach was sending her.

"Want to have some dinner?" Freddie asked, and immediately chastised himself for asking such a naïve question. Sure enough, he turned and looked at Sam's face, to see the look of impatience. "Look who I'm asking," Freddie said, mostly to himself, and they headed toward the sign marked _Novilho de Ouro_.

They entered the restaurant, and Freddie gestured to the host that they wanted a table for two. The host took them to a table, where they took their seats. Noticing that they hadn't been given menus, they grew nervous as they realized the language barrier might be a real issue. Standing beside their table the host smiled wide and spoke in rapid, lilting Portuguese. Sam and Freddie looked from the host to each other and back again, suppressing their smiles. Just as they realized they had no idea what the host was asking them, a young server ran over to them. Her nametag read Gabriela, and she said to them excitedly, "you from iCarly?"

Sam and Freddie nodded, both in shock. "You know us?" Sam managed to ask.

"Did you watch our webshow?"

"_É mesmo._ I watched until you stopped for a time, then you stopped the show forever. But I see you together?"

Freddie and Sam both smiled as he grabbed her left hand and held up her wedding ring for Gabriela to see. "We got married on Saturday, and we're here for our honeymoon."

"_Não acredito! Sua lua-de-mel, aqui no Brasil!_ I mean, you're on your honeymoon, right here? It is wonderful that you got married! The two of you together, always best part of the show! When you arrived?"

"Just a few hours ago," Freddie said. "We're having our first Brazilian meal, but we don't know how it works here. Is there a menu?"

"_Não_, you're in a churrascaria. We serve a _rodizio de carnes_ here. All meats. The servers walk around with the meat, and put pieces on your plate until you're full. And you get salad from the buffet over there. Just set your little card here to the green side, and they bring the meat. You have Brazilian meat before?"

"No!" Sam said excitedly.

"_É, vão gostar_! Beef is our national specialty. And don't forget the f_ejioada _from the buffet. It's Brazil's national dish! Do you want something to drink?"

"I'd like … I don't know what you have," said Freddie.

"How about I get you _caipirinha_? It's the national _coquetel_, made from lime juice and _cachaça_. Very good before a nice dinner."

"Sounds good," said Sam. Gabriela wrote a few things on a pad and hustled away.

"I never realized iCarly had such enthusiastic fans in Brazil," Freddie said. "I never heard from them much on the site. Maybe they have their own sites where they talked about us in Portuguese…" Freddie shrugged his shoulders and looked over at the salad bar. "Why don't you try the buffet?" he asked Sam, as she made a beeline for the food. She returned with a big bowl of a dark brown, almost black soup.

"This is the fed-ju-ada she talked about. It's like soup, but it's full of beans and something like sausage." Sam eagerly grabbed her spoon and shoveled a few bites into her mouth. She sloshed it around her mouth, and began to chew. She swallowed, and expertly spit several perfectly cleaned pieces of bone onto a plate. She looked up at Freddie and smiled. "Mama likey Brazil…"

Gabriela came back and set two small cocktail glasses in front of them, filled with a pale green liquid full of sliced limes, with a visible coating of sugar on top. She also placed before them a tray with little round rolls that seemed to have a generous amount of cheese baked into them. Freddie picked his glass up, and immediately smelled the alcohol in the drink. Sam had already taken a long drag from hers, and set it back down, the smile never leaving her face. She said, "I'd eat fruit every day if you made it like this!"

Over the next two hours, they reveled in their introduction to Brazilian cooking, as they tried ribs, lamb, turkey wrapped in Brazilian bacon, grilled chicken, a very spicy pink sausage that a server said was called _linguiça_, and a flavorful cut of flank steak unique to Brazil called _picanha_. They each downed two caipirinhas beyond the initial ones that Gabriela brought, not knowing that they contained the world's strongest sugar cane rum and not realizing that they were getting bombed as the meal went along.

When it was time to leave, they both stood up and found themselves staggering to the door. While Sam had drunk occasionally at parties, Freddie almost never did, but tonight they had made the most of Brazil's legal drinking age of 18. Freddie stopped Gabriela as they were leaving, and asked how far it was to their hotel. It turned out that thanks to their having walked in circles, they were only two blocks away, and they decided to skip the taxi and work their way back on foot, hoping that the fresh air would help clear their heads.

* * *

"I want fatcakes," Sam said emphatically about half the way up the first block. Freddie stopped and looked around for a supermarket, wondering if Fatcakes were even available here. He noticed several people standing in front of an open-air storefront, and as they got closer, he realized it was a convenience store. They had taken just two steps inside when Sam's eyes, rum buzz or not, seized on the familiar pink half-spheres, and ran over to them. She grabbed several packs, as Freddie looked at the back. His eyes came to a halt at something he read, and he turned to Sam with a big smile.

"Hey Princess … what are the three most beautiful words you can say about Fatcakes?"

"In my stomach. Now let's pay for them."

"No … how about," he held out a package and pointed at the back, "made in Canada?"

"Get out!" Sam screamed, turning every head in the store in their direction. Sam grabbed two more packages, opened one right there in the middle of the aisle and proceeded to lick it slowly, her eyes half closed in ecstasy. Her appreciation for the sugary snack drew attention – particularly from the male contingent of customers. Sam, of course, was oblivious to the stir she was causing and continued to moan and murmur her happiness to the fluffy pink cakes, at one point rubbing them over her face. Freddie, suddenly feeling like he was back in the bikini store, grabbed her hand, paid for their dessert, and started off toward their hotel.

In the street, the alcohol in her system reaching its peak, Sam screamed "MEAT AND CANADIAN FATCAKES! I LOVE BRAZIL!" waving her fists triumphantly in the air. Without warning, she hopped on her husband's back and made him carry her the rest of the way to their hotel. When they got back to their room, they collapsed into bed to sleep off the drinks. They woke up a little before noon the next day, Freddie's arms in the exact spot he put them around Sam before going to sleep.

* * *

Four days later, as they took their seats on a plane headed for Seattle, Sam was still talking about it. For five days, they'd lounged on some of the world's most beautiful beaches and immersed themselves completely in Brazilian culture, but he knew that years from now when Sam told the story of their honeymoon it would still center around cane sugar Fat Cakes and the genius of Brazilian meat.

"You ready to go home?" he said, reaching for her hand.

Sam looked over at him and smiled. "Yes…and no," she said. "I can't wait to see Jax but, I'll sort of miss it being just us."

"Yeah," he said, "Me too. But just think, in a couple days we'll be moving into our own place and then it will be just us."

"Us and Jackson."

"Exactly the way I like it," he said, "surrounded by my two favorite people."

They lapsed into silence, Sam staring out the window, Freddie staring at Sam. Turning, Sam met his gaze.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"For every minute of the last five days. For loving me. For making everything so absolutely perfect." She put her hand to his cheek, leaning in to place a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you."

"Until forever ends. And until death do us part."

* * *

A/N:

We think Sam and Freddie negotiated the language barrier well enough. But here are some of the expressions they encountered:

A Garota de Seattle = The Girl from Seattle

Precisa de pílulas anticoncepcionais = she needs birth control pills

Boa noite, senhora. Como é que eu posso ajudá-la?= Good evening, Ma'am. How may I help you?

Sete reais, quarenta e cinco centavos, por favor.= Seven reais (the Brazilian currency) and forty-five cents, please.

VENDA SOB PRESCRIÇÃO MÉDICA UNICAMENTE = TO BE SOLD UNDER A DOCTOR'S PRESCRIPTION ONLY

Olha que coisa mais linda / Mais cheia de graça / É ela menina / Que vem e que passa / No doce balanço, a caminho do mar = opening lyrics to Tom Jobim's "The Girl from Ipanema," Look at that beautiful sight / so full of grace / it's a girl / who comes and passes by / swinging by sweetly on her way to the sea

Nolvilho de Ouro = The Golden Calf

É mesmo= that's right

Não acredito! Sua lua-de-mel, aqui no Brasil!= I can't believe it! You're on your honeymoon here in Brazil!

Vão gostar! = You're going to like it!

Rodizio = a style of service common in Brazilian restaurants. Customers pay a fixed price, and servers bring meat to the table on the cooking skewers, cut pieces, and place them on diners' plates. Rodizio service is all you can eat.

Fejioada = a thick stew made from beans and pork that Brazilians consider the national dish

Coquetel = cocktail

Cachaça = a very potent Brazilian rum distilled from sugar cane


End file.
